The Bearer of the Mask
by pinkuz
Summary: Where did Trowa's mask come from? Here's my take on it. Read and Review!


The Bearer of the Mask

DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing does NOT belong to me. It belongs to TV Asahi. The only Character I own is Aria Lee.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hi! I'm writing this as a break from my 2 series, YES TWO. So, I'm trying to relax for a while.This is my first time to write something in the 3rd person view too! Tell me if it's good! Ever notice where Trowa got his mask? Sure it could be just a circus prop but what if it was something more? READ ON!!!!!! Please Review! ~ Natalie

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**The Bearer of the Mask**

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By: Natalie

"Damn!" cursed the usually stoic pilot as he raced in and out of the narrow alleys in the L3 Colony. His emerald eyes squinted against the harsh sunlight. He had been caught out in the daylight and the Oz soldiers were combing the streets for so-called resistance or guerilla forces which included HIM a Gundam Pilot. Trowa panted in exhaustion. He had been running for hours now and he just couldn't get the soldiers off his tail. He spied a thin wire that stretched from one house's window to another.

"Hmm... a clothe's line..." an idea came to the weary pilot as he jumped on to balcony nearest the window and hopped on the line keeping his balance perfectly as he noticed that he was three stories off the ground. 'being in the circus DOES have it's perks' Trowa crossed the area quickly though not quick enough. A "crack" sound was the only warning he got before he felt the bullet enter his right shoulder.

He had been shot.

Luckily he was able to clamber into the house; his shoulder protesting all the way. 'How ironic, the moment I find out that there are other Gundams is the moment I get exterminated' Only now did he notice that he was in a rundown house. The window he went or rather crashed into was dusty. Dust and grime covered nearly everything. From what little decor the room had, he could tell that it had probably belonged to a woman. It was obvious that no one had been here in a long time. The roof was about to cave in and the only sources of light were the window and the hole in the roof.

Trowa moaned as he jostled his shoulder, reminding him that it had to be treated. 'With WHAT??' He looked around the room for medical supplies but found none. He came upon what looked like an antiquated Dresser and vaguely wondered why the owner left it behind. For reasons unknown to him, the mirror caught his attention and he attempted to clean the grime off it by rubbing it with his sleeve. The craftsmanship was exquisite to say the least. What looked like brass was carefully guilded into an intricate design filled with mythical creatures. In one side was something that vaguely looked like half of a clown's mask and beside it, the initials AL. 'Who's AL?' he wondered.

Trowa stared at the beautiful mirror but was no longer interested in it's design but the masked figure it reflected behind him.

"Who are you?" whispered the figure.

"Nanashi." He looked at the masked figure intently and noticed that it was female. She had long ebony hair that brushed the backs of her knees and skin so pale that it seemed to glow in the darkened room. What intrigued him was the one amethyst eye that stared at him from beneath her curtain of hair. She seemed etheral in her movements and the mask she wore added more to her aura of mystery.

The woman didn't seem at all surprised by his prescence in her room. In fact, it seemed that she ignored him completely. When Trowa attempted to ask her name, all she did was stare at him with her one eye and then go back to what she was doing which happened to be fixing the bed. Not knowing what to do, the stoic pilot explained why he was here in her room and that if she wanted him to leave, it was fine.

Suddenly, she paused, looked at him and motioned him to lie down on the bed. Trowa, not knowing what she was up to refused.

"Do you want your shoulder treated or not? I may be a colonist but I am a human being too. That is who I am now." she mumbled as she took off her mask. Trowa complied and lay down. The woman cleaned the wound with gentle fingers, so gentle that he didn't even feel a thing. Again he asked her name but she did not answer. Instead, she handed him her mask and smiled softly.

That was the last time he saw the woman. By daybreak she had gone. The only evidence of her prescence was the mask and her name scrawled on the dust covered mirror-- "Aria Lee".

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Trowa woke up with a throbbing head ache and saw four figures looking down at him. Slowly, his vision cleared and recognized his fellow pilots as well as a small hospital room with a glass window.

"Oi! Trowa! Welcome back to the living! We thought we'd lost ya there. What, finding ya in an abandond house!" yelled an enthusiastic Duo.

'was it all a dream?' Trowa looked down and saw his hand gripping a piece of fabric--- a mask?

"Ah, yes Trowa, you didn't seem to want to let go of that.. What is it?" Quatre asked. Trowa told them about the mishap and the amethyst eyed girl. Duo grinned and slapped him on the back. Wufei snorted and mumbled something about weak onnas. Quatre smiled understandingly and Heero simply "hn'd".

Trowa sighed and gazed out the window and could have sworn he saw a certain black haired, purple eyed girl smile at him as she walked by.

** OWARI**


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